Lindgren's books have been translated into 90 languages and sold an estimated 150 million copies.

She passed away in 2002 at the age of 94, after making an enormous impact on the way books were written for children — she believed them to be strong, curious, and capable of understanding topics, like disease, that they'd often been sheltered from. Pippi, with her superhuman strength and endless cheer, is a testament to that.

"If I have managed to brighten up even one gloomy childhood," Lindgren once said, "then I’m satisfied."